ON MY BESTORMED LIFE PATH

A musical and literal journey through the life of Catharina Regina von Greiffenberg

Catharina Regina von Greiffenberg (1633-1694)

Considered the poetic equal of any male poet by her contemporaries – most notably Sigmund von Birken (1626-81) – Greiffenberg is one of the most important German-language female poets of the early modern period. Her work is often deeply personal, frequently expressed in the form of an internal monologue. It focuses on the nature of the relationship between the believer and God, and is marked by a mystical use of imagery, as well as linguistic inventiveness.

Catharina Regina von Greiffenberg was born into an Austrian noble family at Castle Seyssenegg (now Seisenegg in Lower Austria). The family soon became Lutheran and experienced the anti-Protestant actions of the Habsburgs in Austria, which meant , for example, that the Protestant Austrian nobility had to make the long journey across the border to Nürnberg (Nuremberg) to attend church services. On the death of Greiffenberg’s father in 1640, her uncle, Hans Rudolf von Greiffenberg, was made her guardian and he also became her mentor and teacher. Greiffenberg’s education was extensive, and through her acquaintance with Johann Wilhelm von Stubenberg (1619-63), she became a member of the Pegnesischer Blumenorden (Pegnitz Order of Flowers), a language and literary society based in Nürnberg. As a result of her links with Stubenberg and with Order, Greiffenberg came to the attention of Sigmund von Birken, who was impressed by the quality of her poetry and encouraged her publication. In 1652 Hans Rudolf proposed marriage for the first time and in 1664 Greiffenberg finally agreed to marry him. They married in Bayreuth, since it was a union forbidden under Austrian law. Her first collection of poetry was published under the auspices of Hans Rudolf in 1662 and the following year Greiffenberg and her mother fled Austria for Nürnberg to escape the Turks. There followed many years of legal wrangling for Greiffenberg to gain possession of her inheritance, but in 1680 she finally moved to Nürnberg permanently. Collections of her poems were published in 1672, 1675, and 1678.
(source: https://sites.google.com/site/germanliterature/early-modern/greiffenberg)